Bill Shein, a Democrat running to represent the newly drawn 1st Congressional District in Massachusetts, answers questions from the MassLive.com readers during a live chat on July 26, 2012. (Staff Photo by Amanda Hofmockel)

SPRINGFIELD — During an hour-long live chat with the readers of MassLive.com, Congressional candidate Bill Shein discussed a variety of topics, ranging from unemployment and tax policy to Iran and the use of unmanned drones.

Shein, a political activist and writer, is taking on former state senator Andrea Nuciforo Jr. and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, who represents the present 2nd Congressional District, in a three-way Democratic primary to represent the new 1st district, which includes all of Berkshire County, most of Hampden County and parts of Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester Counties.

When asked by a reader what he thinks about the use of unmanned drones to conduct military strikes abroad and surveillance of American citizens domestically, sometimes without a court order, he said the trend is "deeply troubling."

"I believe that in Pakistan, for example, our use of drones as a tool of counter-terrorism is quite likely laying the groundwork for future conflict. The civilian casualties have been numerous, despite claims that drones make it easier to avoid them," Shein wrote. "I'm similarly troubled by the use of drones here by police forces. I don't think any of us are comfortable with the increasing amount of surveillance here, whether it be in closed-circuit cameras on street corners or drones flying overhead. Again, we have to maintain a commitment to our core values and ideals, and not buy into the idea that those must be sacrificed for security."

Shein also said that if would have been in office following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he would not have voted for the Patriot Act, which expanded the powers of law enforcement to conduct surveillance and gather intelligence.

On the topic of health care, Shein reinforced his belief that a publicly funded single payer health insurance system is the way to go and something he would fight for if elected.

"We did some very important things with the Affordable Care Act, such as ending denial because of pre-existing conditions, eliminating lifetime caps, allowing young people to stay on their parents' plan," Shein wrote. "But at the end of the day, it's reform built upon a broken, expensive, private health insurance system. The path to high quality, universal, health and dental care for all is Enhanced Medicare for All."

In response to a reader question on what he would do through legislation to tackle the foreign tax havens some wealthy citizens use to duck paying taxes, Shein said the problem lies not just with individuals, but also with banks and corporations.

"I opposed the Panama Free Trade Agreement for, among other reasons, the ease with which money can be, and has been, hidden there by individuals and corporations. The second matter has to do with corporate tax avoidance, which goes hand-in-hand with the shifting of factories and jobs overseas," Shein wrote. "Famously, General Electric uses something called the "active financing exception" to avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes each year. And it's also why GE has been moving operations and factories overseas to sell to foreign markets. Rep. Neal supports that special break and wants to make it permanent. I strongly oppose it."

Shein said that in order to reduce the unemployment rate in Springfield, which recently grew to 10.3 percent, politicians need to look beyond the numbers to find real solutions. He said that to generically talk about "job creation" isn't enough, and that diverse opportunities are needed for the area's diverse population.

"I'm a supporter of substantial direct investment in job creation, along the lines of what we did during the New Deal in response to the Great Depression," Shein wrote. "There have been several bills in Congress in recent years to do this: Create several different kinds of job corps to rebuild infrastructure, perform green retrofits to the many buildings and homes here that need it, keep teachers and firefighters and police employed, and more. We did some with the stimulus in 2009, but not enough. And too much emphasis is on tax cuts for big business. That's clearly not working."

And in light of the fact that discussions over what to do about a potentially nuclear-armed Iran have restarted in recent months, Shein said that he believes that diplomacy still has a chance.

"We can and must continue to build diplomatic pressure, while also recognizing that our own government's assessment of Iran's nuclear program, at least for military purposes, is that much of it was abandoned a number of years ago," Shein wrote. "So, again, a rush to military action here would be catastrophic for Israel and others, derail a nascent movement for change in Iran, and set back the prospects for a broader peace. Rep. Neal was a co-sponsor of a resolution that endorsed a military strike on Iran by Israel. I believe there is a better way."

To read Shein's comprehensive answers to questions on the aforementioned topics and more, visit the archived live chat.

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